New Zealand’s medicines and medical devices safety authority – MedSafe – has introduced its first set of guidelines for medical cannabis advertising which prohibit clinics from advertising THC or CBD products, distributing educational materials about medical cannabis, and displaying signage that suggests a clinic supplies cannabis, The Post reports.
Sally King, executive director of the New Zealand Medical Cannabis Council (NZMCC), told The Post the rules have “a chilling effect on patient informed consent.”
“The guidance pretty much establishes that all forms of communication about medicinal cannabis are now considered advertising, including patients speaking to one another. The only real engagement is between a healthcare practitioner and their patient.” — King to The Post
Waseem Alzaher, chief executive of Green Leaf Group, which owns the Cannabis Clinic, told The Post that the rules have “created a situation where patients are more confused, doctors are afraid to talk about it, and clinics are getting punished for trying to educate people.”
“We’ve had to invest in compliance consultants and lawyers just to make sure we’re not breaking the law by accident. That’s time and money we’d rather spend on care,” he said. “As healthcare professionals, we can’t stand up and